Be Still!

In 2006, Forrester Research found that Internet users expected a page to load in four seconds or less. In 2009, the same group found that user expectations had changed; now people expected a page to load in less than two seconds.

Google did some research using their search engine. They intentionally slowed down the responsiveness of their searches to see how users would react. Facing delays of as little as 100 thousandths of a second, users changed their behavior and did fewer searches. When the delay was increased to 400 thousandths of a second, the overall impact was 8 million fewer searches per day. (For a bit of perspective, keep in mind that the average blink takes about 400 thousandths of a second.)

Of course, the Internet isn't the only place where people are impatient. One study found that most North Americans won't stand in line for more than fifteen minutes. Many believe the old adage that says "Time is money," and they don't want to waste more time than they have to.

We live in an impatient, fast-paced world, where we want everything done immediately, if not sooner. We don't want to wait. We don't want to slow down. We don't want to be patient.

And it's killing us. Stress-related health issues are reaching epidemic proportions. The need for speed is hurtling us toward the grave.

Maybe we need to listen to these words from the book of Psalms in the Old Testament: "Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!" (Psalm 46:10).

Be still. Be still and know that God is God. Stop. Wait. Listen.

God doesn't always respond in four seconds or less. While we won't have to stand in line, we may have to wait much more than fifteen minutes. The Bible says that for God a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like a day. We can't rush him, nor give him a deadline. But he will answer. He will respond. He will save.

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